The Hunger Games

Chapter-by-chapter summary

Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole plot, including the ending.

The novel has 27 chapters in three parts: The Tributes, The Games and The Victor. The sections below follow the story in eight steps.

Part 1: The reaping in District 12

Katniss wakes on reaping day in District 12, a coal-mining district in what was once Appalachia. Her father died in a mine explosion years ago, and her mother sank into grief, so Katniss has fed the family by hunting in the woods beyond the fence, often with her friend Gale. Her sister Prim, twelve, has her name in the drawing only once. When the Capitol escort calls Prim's name, Katniss shouts that she volunteers. Why it matters: the scene sets up the poverty, the bond between the sisters and the Games as a punishment the districts must watch. Katniss's first big act comes from love, not ambition.

Part 2: Peeta, the train and the Capitol

The other District 12 tribute is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son. Years ago, when Katniss's family was starving, he threw her loaves from his family's bakery, and she has never known how to repay him. The two ride a luxurious train to the Capitol, where their escort, Effie Trinket, fusses over manners and their mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, the district's only living winner, is usually drunk. In the Capitol, the stylist Cinna dresses them in costumes that seem to burn during the opening parade. Why it matters: Katniss starts to see that the Games are a show, and that being remembered by the audience can keep a tribute alive.

Part 3: Training and the interviews

Before the Games, the tributes train and are scored by the Gamemakers. Tributes from the richer districts, known as Careers, have prepared for years and look down on District 12. In her private session Katniss feels the judges are ignoring her, so she shoots an arrow at the apple in a roast pig's mouth. She earns a high score of 11. At the televised interviews, Peeta announces that he has loved Katniss for a long time. She is furious, then sees that viewers and possible sponsors are moved by a love story. Why it matters: image becomes a survival tool, because sponsors can send gifts that save lives.

Part 4: The arena begins

The Games open at the Cornucopia, a huge golden horn stacked with weapons and supplies. Many tributes die in the first minutes. Katniss grabs a small pack and runs for the woods instead of fighting. She finds water, avoids the Careers, and survives a wall of fire sent by the Gamemakers, who can change the arena to keep the show exciting. When the Careers corner her in a tree, she cuts down a nest of tracker jackers, wasps whose venom causes hallucinations, and drops it on them. She is stung and falls into nightmares. Why it matters: she survives by thinking like a hunter, while the unseen controllers shape every danger.

Part 5: Rue

Katniss wakes and meets Rue, a small twelve-year-old from District 11 who reminds her of Prim. Rue is quick at climbing and hiding, and the two become allies. Together they plan to destroy the Careers' stockpile of food. Katniss blows it up with an arrow, but Rue is caught in a net trap and killed by another tribute. Katniss covers Rue with flowers and gives a salute to the cameras. Soon afterward, District 11 sends her a gift of bread. Why it matters: this is the book's turning point, where grief becomes an open act of defiance against the Capitol's rules.

Part 6: Finding Peeta

The Gamemakers announce a rule change: two tributes from the same district may win together. Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him badly wounded, hiding by a stream. She nurses him in a cave. To keep viewers on their side, she plays the part of a girl in love, and the kiss leads Haymitch to send medicine. When an announced feast offers a package of supplies, Katniss risks everything to go. She returns with the medicine that heals Peeta, and the field of survivors keeps shrinking. Why it matters: acting and feeling start to blur for her, and the rule change gives the two a real chance.

Part 7: Cato and the final fight

Only Katniss, Peeta and Cato remain. The Gamemakers release savage, engineered creatures that chase them to the top of the Cornucopia. Cato is overpowered and left badly hurt, and Katniss ends his suffering with an arrow. Then the Gamemakers cancel the rule change and say only one can win. Katniss and Peeta take out poisonous nightlock berries and prepare to eat them together. The Gamemakers stop them in time and declare both of them victors. Why it matters: Katniss turns the Capitol's own rules against it, and the moment shows that the audience wants a winner but not two dead children.

Part 8: The train home

On the ride home, Peeta learns that some of Katniss's affection on camera was a strategy, and he is hurt. Katniss does not know what she truly feels about him or about Gale, who is waiting at home. She also understands that her trick with the berries may have made an enemy of the Capitol's leaders. The book ends without comfort, and the Games are over but the danger is not. Why it matters: the ending makes clear that survival does not mean safety, and it prepares the next book in the series.

Characters

Katniss Everdeen

The 16-year-old narrator from District 12. A skilled archer and hunter, she is guarded, practical and slow to trust. She enters the Games to protect Prim, and she struggles to tell what is real in her feelings and what is performance.

Peeta Mellark

The baker's son from District 12 and the male tribute. Years earlier he gave Katniss bread when her family was starving. He is gentle, good with words and quietly strong, and he understands the power of the cameras.

Primrose Everdeen

Katniss's twelve-year-old sister. She is kind, gentle with animals and the sick, and small for her age. She is the person Katniss most wants to protect, and her name being drawn sets the whole story in motion.

Gale Hawthorne

Katniss's hunting partner and closest friend. He is older, angry about the Capitol's rule and responsible for his own large family. He watches the Games from home, and his bond with Katniss becomes complicated by what the broadcast shows.

Haymitch Abernathy

District 12's only living victor and now mentor to its tributes. He drinks heavily and seems useless at first, but he knows how the Games work and guides Katniss and Peeta with sharp, hard advice and carefully timed gifts.

Effie Trinket

The Capitol escort for District 12. Fussy, cheerful and obsessed with manners, she treats the Games as a prestigious event. She shows how normal the Capitol thinks all of this is, and how far it is from the districts' fear.

Cinna

Katniss's stylist. Quiet and thoughtful, he designs costumes that make her unforgettable, starting with the outfit that makes her look as though she is on fire. He is one of the few Capitol people who treats her as a person.

Rue

A small, quick twelve-year-old tribute from District 11 who reminds Katniss of Prim. She is good at climbing, hiding and spotting dangers, and she becomes Katniss's ally in the arena and the emotional centre of the book.

Cato

The strong, well-trained male tribute from District 2. He leads the group of Careers, tributes who have prepared for the Games all their lives, and he becomes Katniss's most dangerous opponent in the arena.

President Snow

The ruler of Panem, mostly offstage in this first book. His government's power rests on the Games, which keep the districts frightened and divided, so he stays in the background of every scene.

Writing about this book

A good book report does more than retell the plot. Choose one scene that moved you, explain why, and connect it to a bigger idea. These questions can start your own thinking:

• Katniss volunteers for Prim without hesitation. What would you have done, and what does her choice say about how she sees her role in her family?
• People in the Capitol enjoy the Games as entertainment. Does that remind you of anything in real life, such as how we watch news, sport or reality shows?
• After Rue dies, Katniss decorates her body with flowers. Why might that quiet act matter more than anything she does with a weapon?
• Katniss and Peeta act like a couple for the cameras. Where does the performance end and the feeling begin?

Pick the question that bothers you most and write about your answer in your own words. If your readers have not read the book, keep the ending to yourself, and finish by linking the story to something you see in the world today.